Winona Kho
: "I went out there to fight. It's what I do. It's what we always do. ... You didn't put a gun to my head, you didn't force me to fight. ... Don't feel responsible, don't feel sorry for me. Focus on what the real problem at hand is and save the whole goddamn world!" : — Winona to Angelsrc Winona Kho is a former demon hunter, a member of Angel Investigations, and later an executive at Wolfram & Hart. Biography Early life Born on a Black Friday, Winona was delivered in a car due to a traffic jam and named after the woman who helped her mother in the process. Growing up in Vallejo, California, she spent most of her time during the summer at the Empress Theater where she became friends with the daughter of a Chinese acrobat. : "You know, my grandmother brought me up with the idea that anything non-human was evil. My grandfather thought differently. He always saw the good in things, even demons." : ― Winona to Lornesrc When Winona was six, she lost her mother to CDJ. No more than two years later, her father was killed in a collision. From then on, she was raised by her demon hunting grandparents, who were vastly interested and involved in the occult world. Throughout her teens, Winona showed an interest in mathematics and engineering and had a knack for "building things". She was trained by her grandfather in martial arts and taught by her grandmother in demonology. She was homeschooled a majority of her life. Tolapian Possession After her grandfather's death, Winona vacationed in Los Angeles in order to lift her spirits. However, during her two-week stay, she fell under the possession of a Tolapian, who used her knowledge in engineering to create a bomb in an attempt to kill Angel, as well as every ensouled being within a certain radius. Winona failed, however, and was almost killed by Angel in the process before it was revealed she was under a possession. Sometime after this, Winona pursued a shaman, who performed a ritual that ensured she could never fall under any form of possession ever again. Joining Angel Investigations : "We could use another pretty girl around here." : ― Cordelia to Angel on Winona's recruitmentsrc After her encounter with Angel and the others, Winona became interested in their field and insisted that she work for Angel Investigations, even at free-expense. With Winona's vast knowledge of the occult world and her proficiency in combat, as well as engineering, she found her purpose rather quickly. She and Wesley Wyndam-Pryce, a former watcher with ties in Sunnydale, filled the deceased Doyle's place in the business. When Angel realized that Winona was running low on money, he decided to make her an official member of the team by giving her a paid job at the agency. Winona proved her loyalty to Angel Investigations when she chose to continue helping Angel after she was tempted with an offer from Wolfram & Hart, who had noticed and considered her "the most valuable player on Team Angel". She also betrayed her grandmother in order to protect Angel, thus cementing her relationship with him. As time passed, Winona grew a lot more capable and confident as a result of her time assisting Angel and eventually found herself to be a highly capable leader. No longer insecure in her abilities, Winona was often the first to volunteer when it came to trouble and the moral compass for when times were rough. During Angel's dark periods, she was often there to offer moral support, as well as comfort. She also developed a strong bond with Charles Gunn and began a non-conforming relationship with Krevlornswath of the Deathwok Clan, or better known as Lorne, oblivious to Wesley's harbored feelings for her. Betrayal of Angel Investigations After walking in on Wesley attacking Lorne and attempting to kidnap Angel's newborn child, Connor, Winona allowed him to leave without notifying the others, trusting he had a good motive. After Wesley's plan failed, Connor was swept away by Holtz to Quor'toth, a hell dimension, and the prophecy Wesley believed in turned out to be false. Riddled with guilt, Winona confronted Angel, telling him the truth behind Wesley's escape. Their interaction became heated and Winona was alienated from Angel Investigations, as well as Lorne through association. Winona and Wesley formed their own team to continue fighting the good fight, and though it was more of a paramilitary mercenary ground than a detective agency, it maintained an interest in the affairs of Angel Investigations. As time passed, Winona grew closer to Wesley, eventually breaking off her relationship with Lorne and starting one with Wesley. Returning to the Fold After retrieving Angel from the bottom of the ocean, offering him advice in finding Cordelia after her ascension, and participating in a spell to restore Cordelia's lost memory, Winona seemed to be gaining Angel's trust back, as well as the others at the Hyperion. However, she resisted their attempts at reconciliation because of their refusal to treat Wesley in the same manner. This caused a rift between her and Gunn, who believed she could "do better" than Wesley. Jasmine's Manifestation After the initial arrival of Jasmine, Winona was the first to suspect something odd in Cordelia due to her offbeat nature and her relationship with Connor. During a confrontation with The Beast, Winona fell onto a rod and was badly injured. Unknowingly pregnant, she had a miscarriage in the process and remained bound to a wheelchair for weeks. After their incredible loss, Wesley proposed to Winona at her bedside in the hospital, which she accepted. After the birth of Jasmine, Winona was apart of the few that didn't fall under Jasmine's thrall, due to the spell cast on her by the shaman. After her fellow team member, Fred Burkle, managed to break free from the mental brainwashing, the two fought to help everyone else at Angel Investigations free themselves from their thrall as well. They managed to successfully end Jasmine's "peaceful" reign, and in-turn, were offered the "new and improved" Los Angeles branch of Wolfram & Hart by a recently deceased Lilah. Angel accepted the deal for Team Angel in an attempt to save Connor. As per request, Wolfram & Hart performed a powerful mind-wipe that removed certain events from the collective memories of the world at large, causing Winona to forget all of her memories involving Connor, and along with it, her betrayal of Angel and the group. Wolfram & Hart Now at the Los Angeles branch of Wolfram & Hart, Winona ran the Innovation Department in Mechanical Engineering while also training in martial arts with Mr. Zhou during her spare time. She became close friends with Fred during this time. It was a short-lived friendship, however; Fred became infected with some sort of mystical illness that turned out to be the Old One known as Illyria shelling her out to occupy her body. In turn, Winona shot Knox, the man responsible for choosing Fred as Illyria's vessel. Winona eventually grew curious with Illyria and helped her to understand the human world and the emotions she was blighted with. She later sent Illyria into the hell dimension to rescue Gunn. When Angel proposed to attack the Circle of the Black Thorn and it led to fighting the Senior Partners' armies, Wesley sacrificed himself for Winona, stepping in front of a demon who came close to killing her. He died instantly, leaving Winona grief-stricken and careless in the fight. She was almost killed once more before Illyria stepped in to save her. Fall of Los Angeles Following the Fall of Los Angeles into a hell dimension, Winona, Illyria, and Spike were separated from Angel and began watching over a group of human and demon survivors. Winona remained bitter and depressed over Wesley's death, escaping only in her dreams. In hell, Illyria soon began randomly changing back into her Fred form, which left her confused and vulnerable. Winona was forced to urge her to remain as Illyria in order to protect her. When Winona caught wind of Angel's challenge for control of Los Angeles, she refused to fight alongside him, knowing how their last battle turned out. It wasn't until Lorne rallied up the rest of the gang that she was convinced otherwise. There, she came across Wesley as a ghost, working for Wolfram & Hart in the afterlife due to the standard perpetuity clause they had over him. They had a short lived heart-to-heart before Illyira's truest form was unleashed. After Illyria was defeated, Wesley asked Spike to watch over Winona before time was restored back before the Fall. : Winona: '"''It's back to square one." : 'Angel: '"How's that?" : 'Winona: '"I came to L.A. to get away from the sadness. And now I'm leaving for the same thing." : — Winona to Angel on her departuresrc In the new timeline, Angel uses his new status as a public hero to rename a wing of the public library in honor of Fred and Wesley, as suggested by Winona. Staying in touch with both Angel and Spike, she eventually leaves Los Angeles in an attempt to "regroup and reassert". Personality : "Anything that gets your blood racing is probably worth doing." : ― Winona Khosrc Winona's most notable personality trait was her passion. During times of despair, she was the motivator that would allow Angel Investigations to win the day. Her passion is what drove her to be apart of Team Angel, allowed Angel to recuperate from both Darla and Cordelia, recovered Wesley from a downward spiral of self-hatred, aided Gunn in his relationship with Fred, helped defeat Jasmine, and gave Lorne the right perspective on his life. As Gunn once put it, "She can make the impossible happen. A woman like that is worth the chaos." However, Winona has allowed her passion and emotions to get mixed up, for example, when she shoots Knox out of anger over Fred's death. Winona began as a self-conscious person, usually doubting in her abilities as a demon hunter. An example of her insecurities show when her grandmother comes to Los Angeles and Winona cries, feeling as though she's powerless against her. She was also often visibly intimidated by her team members, sans Angel. However, in time, she gradually became more confident in her abilities and allowed herself to confide and relate to the others. Her confidence often showed when standing up to powerful foes, such as Angelus with his manipulative tricks and The Beast with his physical strength. A significant change in Winona's persona came about shortly after Wesley's death. While she ultimately still fought the good fight, her grief from Wesley's death rendered her powerless and pessimistic. She felt abandoned and alone and had a lack of motivation to help her friends. Even after time is reset, Winona showed to be the same, just with added kindness. Appearance Venus_and_Mars-014.jpg 5bxzps.jpg Kthpb144.jpg Kim-Tae-Hee.jpg 150910_yongpal_01.jpg 64699f9b52441c56345335e6bc9f52a6.jpg Winona was an adult woman of an average height and build. When she first appeared in Los Angeles, she often dressed in t-shirts, jeans, and sweaters, wearing her black hair in ponytails and braids. Upon joining Angel Investigations, she maintained her style and lightened her hair to a brown shade. At Wolfram & Hart, her appearance changed drastically to fit in; she wore dresses and skirts, switching up between shades of colors and dyed her grown out hair chestnut for added "oomph". After the Fall, she resumed back to dark colors, adding less care to her outfits and hair. After time was reset, her appearance resembled the manner in which she arrived to Los Angeles. Powers and Abilities Winona was a human mortal with no supernatural abilities, but had more-than-average strength for a woman of her height and weight. Although trained as a demon hunter, her overwhelming fear initially prevented her from using her skills efficiently. However, during her time with Angel and as her character progressed, she became an incredibly skilled martial artist, proficient with weaponry and could take on vampires victoriously. Contrary to Buffy and Angel's methods to fight demons, Winona made extensive use of firearms in the fight against evil, often using a pair of 13-shot version Colt 45 pistols. Her detailed knowledge of demons and sorcery, as well as mathematics and constructing, aided Angel and the team regularly. Relationships Romantic * 'Scott Favor ' — A boy Winona dated for a week in 3rd grade. He broke up with her for a melted Twix. * '''Krevlornswath of the Deathwok Clan — Lorne and Winona first met in Caritas after Angel and the others went to meet Merl, their inside source at the time. Over time and many awkward instances, the two learned of each others' interests and bonded over their love of music and crime-noir movies. In Pylea, Winona worried constantly over Lorne's well-being and vice-versa. After Lorne was "bruised and battered" finding information for Angel about the conduit, Winona gave him first-aid and the two shared a moment. When the others go to see the play Giselle, Winona and Lorne stay behind to watch Connor and finally admit their feelings for each other. This set Lorne at odds with Wesley, who also had a romantic interest in her. Lorne alienated himself from Angel and the others after Winona admitted to aiding in Connor's kidnapping. The two grew distant over time as Winona spent most of her days demon hunting and only a week after Wesley confessed his love for her, Winona ended things with Lorne, breaking his heart in the process. Lorne revealed to Angel that he never really "got over the little kitten", but respected her decision and would always be there for her. After joining Wolfram & Hart, she and Lorne had congruent offices, which allowed them to patch over the rocky aspects of their previous relationship. They remained close friends until she departed Los Angeles. * Wesley Wyndam-Pryce — Wesley was Winona's most impacted lover. The two started out as "newbie" members of Team Angel together. They would have brief discussions over work and lackluster conversations by the water cooler before Wesley revealed his love for Gallagher "and his watermelon smashing routine". Over time, the two became close friends and often trained together in hand-to-hand combat. When Wesley began dating Virginia Bryce, he was dissapointed to find that Winona wasn't jealous of his relationship, but rather supportive, which made him realize he had feelings for her. In Pylea, Wesley defended Winona against Narwek after the demon hit her for speaking out. When Gunn's former gang invaded Caritas, Wesley was especially protective of Winona, shielding her from stray bullets and defending her against one of Gio's insulting remarks. After Wesley fell prey to Billy's power, he became radically violent towards her, and although he never actually harmed her, the thought of jeopardizing her safety made him afraid to be around her. Recovering from the incident a few weeks later, Wesley began preparing his confession when he overheard Winona discussing her crush on Lorne with Cordelia. This left him discouraged and disheartened as he watched their relationship blossom idly by. After Wesley and Winona became alienated from Angel Investigations and begun working close together, he confessed his true feelings for her, which initially left her confused, but she soon reciprocated and the two started a relationship immediately. During the battle with The Beast, Winona miscarried after receiving a grotesque injury. Wesley proposed to her bedside only a few days later, which she accepted. While under Jasmine's thrall, Wesley had the urge to kill Winona once again after she and Fred refused Jasmine's preachings. This caused him to believe she'd put an end to their relationship, but seeing as though he was under a powerful spell, she easily forgave him. When Angel Investigations became apart of Wolfram & Hart, Wesley grew jealous over the closeness that became of Lorne and Winona, which caused her to distance herself from him quite a bit. It wasn't until after the death of Fred that the two were able to put aside their differences and reconcile. The two were never married as Wesley sacrificed himself for Winona in the line of battle. They expressed their gratitude and love to each other one last time during the Fall before Wesley is sent back to the afterlife. Parental *'Danica Kho' — Winona had a strained relationship with her grandmother, who raised her after her parents passed away. Danica had always been dissapointed in Winona as a child, which Winona believed was because of her belief that peaceful demons existed. This attitude worsened when she chose Angel Investigations over her "home". *'Milo Kho' — Unlike her grandmother, Winona had a very healthy relationship with her grandfather. She described him as being thoughtful and kind to all. She often expressed her grief over his death. *'Parents' — Not much is said about Winona's parents. It's only known that she had also had a healthy relationship with them. Friendships *'Angel ' — While under the possession of the Tolapian, Winona harbored pure hatred towards him. However, once she broke free, she became very intrigued and interested in a vampire cursed with a soul. In the beginning, Angel was the only person Winona was comfortable around as she had a hard time relating to the others at Angel Investigations. The two would often play chess together and discuss current events. A few weeks after being employed at the agency, she betrayed her grandmother for him and refused Wolfram & Hart's tempting offer, revealing she had complete trust in him and his actions. After Angel fired everyone from the agency during his dark period, Winona didn't feel as angry or betrayed as her colleagues, instead feeling sympathy towards him. Their relationship dissolved when she allowed Wesley to kidnap Connor. As retribution, Angel alienated her from Angel Investigations. However, Winona returned to help when the circumstances called for it, and when she was wheelchair bound, Angel apologized to her as he felt responsible for "all that happened". Despite various moments that caused rifts between the two, and Winona questioning Angel's tactics at times, Winona seemed to always place full trust and faith into Angel. They were able to salvage their relationship before her departure, but would never be the same as before. *'Cordelia Chase' — Winona had a tough time relating to Cordelia when she first joined Angel Investigations. It wasn't until Cordelia became more humble and friendly that their friendship took off. The two would often accompany each other to the movies and do the occasional shopping spree, as well as offering advice and consultation. When Winona was conflicted over her feelings about Lorne, Cordelia helped clear them up for her, as did Winona with Cordelia's feelings about Angel. At one point, Winona was willing to sacrifice her life for Cordelia when the visions proved to be too much for her. When she and Angel hit a rift, Cordelia sympathized with Angel more, which hurt Winona, and after Cordelia returned from being a higher being, the two were so out of touch, it was as if they were strangers. However, the memories Winona kept with Cordelia always remained dear to her heart. *'Charles Gunn' — Upon meeting each other, the two didn't get along. They would constantly bicker and disagree on everything, making it impossible sometimes for the rest of the gang. It wasn't until Winona saved Gunn's life that he became more tolerant towards her and after bonding over a football game in a bar one Sunday afternoon, the two became friends. Viewing him as a brother, their relationship remained strictly platonic, despite what others thought. After Winona's confession concerning Holtz and Connor, Gunn tried to convince Angel that she wasn't at fault and shouldn't have been ostracized, but to no avail. Around the time Winona resisted patching things up with others because of Wesley, Gunn expressed his dislike for "the man he'd become" and believed she could find someone better, which angered her. The two remained friends as time went on, that is, until Fred's death. Although Gunn had inadvertently and incidentally been responsible for Fred's passing, she still considered him at fault. Winona never came across Gunn as a vampire, which he purposefully managed to do. Around the time she left Los Angeles, he was still in a coma. *'Fred Burkle' — After losing Cordelia to a coma, Winona was in need of a female friend, one who she could relate to. Fred proved to be the perfect candidate, considering she was the only girl left apart of Team Angel. When Winona went to Fred on advice about Wesley, she realized how much Fred had changed as a person since being saved from Pylea. She spent most of her free time with Fred, learning about physics and the latter whenever possible. In just a matter of weeks, the two became inseparable. However, their friendship was short lived after Illyria took over her body. *'Illyria' — Initially, Winona wanted nothing to do with Illyria after the Old One inhabited Fred's body. It wasn't until she had a conversation with Illyria that Winona became interested in the demon. Confused, Illyria was lost in the ways of the world, it having been much different around the time she existed. Winona took advantage of that and helped Illyria get around to understanding the way humans work. When Illyria was having difficulty with her powers, Winona was the only one Illyria spared before time was reset. After Wesley died during battle, Illyria managed to save Winona's life once or twice during the fight against the Senior Partners. After the Fall, Illyria's fluctuated morphing between her form and Fred's. Winona urged her to remain Illyria for the sole sake of protecting her. *'Spike' — Spike initially pursued Winona, well aware of her relationship with Wesley. This stopped, however, the moment he became corporeal. When asked why, Spike replied, "I was a ghost and I was bored." The two remained friends, never bonding, but friendly. After Wesley's death, Spike often doted upon Winona, worried over her mental state. After stopping her from attempting suicide, Winona had a breakdown in his arms, which they kept as a private moment between the two of them. When Winona left from Los Angeles, she mentioned to Angel that she would stay in contact with Spike. Antagonistic *'Connor ' — As a baby, Winona was very loving towards Connor. It wasn't until he returned from Quor'toth that the two begun to butt heads. When Connor called Lorne a "filthy demon", Winona tried to reprimand him, which only resulted in a quarrel that was barely broken up by Cordelia. The two had another face-off around the time Angel was forced to become Angelus, which resulted in a knife pressed against Winona's neck. They both continued to antagonize each other any chance they had before Connor was wiped from everyone's memories. After those memories returned and Connor came to visit Angel at Wolfram & Hart, the two ran into each other, but were no longer hostile. After the Fall, Connor and Winona worked together to protect the innocent. *'Harmony Kendall ' — During Harmony's first visit to Los Angeles after her break-up with Spike, Winona openly expressed annoyance of her. She had requested someone stake Harmony due to her constant gum chewing and was horrified to see her tear a page out of a twelve-hundred-year old book. Eventually, Winona would try to come at her with a stake before being stopped by Cordelia and Angel. After damaging the computer by spilling a cup of blood, she would irritably comment, "Harm...real fitting." *'Xander Harris ' — When Winona accompanied Angel to Sunnydale, Xander made an insulting remark towards Wesley, which caused her to start an argument with him. Winona was kicked out of the house before anything could escalate. Hobbies and Interests Winona is a fan of crime-noir movies and musicians such as Leslie Gore and Joni Mitchell. She appears to enjoy chocolate and admits to watching 'I Love Lucy' re-runs. As a child, she had a dog named after her favorite actor, Humphrey Bogart. Behind the Scenes *She was portrayed by Kim Tae-hee. *Winona appears in a total of 102 episodes of the Buffyverse, all of which also featured Angel. The only characters to appear in more episodes are Angel (167), Willow (147), Buffy (146), Xander (143), Cordelia (140), Giles (121), Spike (120), and Wesley (109). *Kim Tae-hee later guest-starred on How I Met Your Mother with Alyson Hannigan (Willow Rosenberg) . This show include also many guest-stars of Buffyverse like Seth Green (Oz), Danny Strong (Jonathan Levinson), Danielle Weeks (Debbie Foley), Harry Groener (Richard Wilkins), Kal Penn (Hunt/Brain man), Tom Lenk (Cyrus/Andrew Wells), Amy Acker (Winifred Burkle/Illyria) and Peter Breitmayer (Desmond Keel). *Kim Tae-hee later guest-starred with Amy Acker (Winifred Burkle/Illyria), Josh Randall (Bartender), Henri Lubatti (Head vampire), Nick Chinlund (Ellis), Eric Lange (a Lubber Demon), Azura Skye (Cassie Newton), Patrick Fischler (Ted), Michael Maize (Artode) and Brigid Branagh (Virginia Bryce) on Grimm (created by David Greenwalt). Category:Angel Investigations and Team AngelCategory:Wolfram & Hart executives and lawyersCategory:Demon huntersCategory:Magic practitionersCategory:HumansCategory:Alive individualsCategory:FemalesCategory:Los Angeles residentsCategory:Buffy Season 7 CharactersCategory:Angel Season 1 CharactersCategory:Angel Season 2 CharactersCategory:Angel Season 3 CharactersCategory:Angel Season 4 CharactersCategory:Angel Season 5 CharactersCategory:Angel Season 6 CharactersCategory:Caritas patrons